CHAPTER FOURTEEN
( LEARNING OF THE TRUTH )

PICTURE THIS: THE MOST famous musician performing in front of the largest crowd ever, everyone packed in a huge stadium.

Now, times the size of that stadium by a million, or even a billion. But there are no lights; the electricity went off, and with no noise on stage, there are only the murmurs of the crowd. Tragedy has happened backstage, and millions or billions of people are waiting for a concert doomed to never begin.

That was what the Fields of Asphodel looked like. Because of eons of being trampled by the dead's feet, the black grass laid flattened. As if they were in a swamp, humid wind blew through the air. The black trees Kali knew as poplars grew in clumps here and there.

The cavern ceiling was so high above them it might have been a bank of storm clouds if not for the stalactites. They glowed a faint gray and looked wickedly pointed. Some were impaled into the ground, having fallen from up above; they dotted the black grass in various spots. The dead didn't have to worry about being stabbed and flattened simultaneously by the stalactites. Kali, Percy, Annabeth, and Grocer didn't have that luxury. It made her more nervous.

The four of them did their best to blend in with the crowd while keeping an eye out for security ghouls at the same time. Kali didn't bother to look for anyone familiar; there were too many to count, and would be a lost cause. Besides, they were hard to look at. Their faces shimmered. Repeatedly they came up to them and spoke, but their voices were like chatter, like bats twittering. The moment they realized Kali and them didn't understand what they were saying, the dead frowned and left.

It was depressing. Not scary.

It made her tear up in sympathy.

They crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black-tented pavilion. There was a banner on it that read:

JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION
Welcome, Newly Deceased!

Out the back of the tent came two lines, much smaller than the main one.

At the left, security ghouls flanked the spirits, and marched down a rocky path toward the Field of Punishment. It glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating various torture areas. Even with how far away Kali was, she could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through patches of cacti, or listen to opera music. There were worse things, too. Things that would be seared into her mind forever. And then there was an ant-sized figure of Sisyphus in the distance, struggling to push a boulder to the top of a hill.

As for the right side, it was much, much better. The line led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls – a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history were beyond the gate. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on lawns. Grass rippled in colors of the rainbow. Laughter and the smell of barbecue made its way over.

Elysium.

In the middle of the valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium.

Kali knew where she wanted to end up when she died. She knew that immediately.

"That's what it's all about," said Annabeth. "That's the place for heroes."

And though it was beautiful, Elysium was tiny compared to the Fields of Asphodel and the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good their lives. It was down right depressing.

They left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Asphodel Fields. Darkness grew. Colors faded from their clothes. Crowds of chattering spirits thinned.

After miles of walking, they began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian. Above the parapets swirled three dark bat-like creatures: the Furies. Kali wouldn't be surprised if they were waiting for them.

"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover wistfully said.

"We'll be okay," said Percy, and Kali could tell he was trying to sound confident.

She tiredly nodded, just to outwardly keep up her optimistic nature. It was an attempt to get the worried glances at her to back off. It didn't work. Percy glanced at her from the corner of his eye for the hundredth time since they left the hallowed poplar tree. She sent him an annoyed frown that had him reluctantly looking away.

"Maybe we should search some other places first," Grocer suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance..."

"We don't have time," Kali said. "The quicker we get this over with, the quicker we get above ground. Doesn't that sound nice?"

He sighed. "I guess."

"Come on, goat boy." Annabeth grabbed his arm.

Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass.

"Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."

"But I didn't–"

He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from the rest of them.

"Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. Kali jerked forward to grab him, only for her hand to skim his before he got away. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!"

Percy made a grab for Grover then, too, but was too late. Their friend was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.

They chased after him.

Kali had to take in a deep breath and ready herself before following, urging herself forward to keep up and to ignore her growing fatigue and exhaustion.

Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"

It was a smart idea but not an easy one. Grover tried to sit up, but unfortunately had no luck with reaching the laces.

They kept after him. They did their best to keep him in sight as he zipped between the legs of spirits, which caused them to chatter at him in annoyance. Suddenly, the shoes turned sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction.

The slope got steeper. Grover picked up more speed. Kali, Annabeth, and Percy had to sprint to keep up. As the cavern walls narrowed on each side, Kali realized they had entered some sort of side tunnel. No black grass or trees. Only rock and the dim light of the stalactites.

"Grover!" Percy yelled, voice echoing. "Hold onto something!"

He grabbed at gravel, yet there was nothing big enough to slow him down.

The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on her arms bristled. It smelled evil. It made her think of things she shouldn't even know about – blood spilled on an ancient stone alter, the foul breath of a murderer.

Then she saw what was ahead, and stopped dead. So did Percy.

The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block. The place from hers and Percy's dream.

And Grover was sliding straight towards the edge.

With Percy still stalling, Kali immediately started sprinting again. Just behind her she heard Annabeth yell, "Come on, Percy!" and chose to tune them out as she pushed herself to go faster.

She already lost one friend to a cliff's edge. She refused to let it happen again.

Grover was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragging him toward the pit. It looked like she wasn't going to get him in time, but she chanted a mantra in her head that she was. They were going to stop Grover from going down the pit.

That mantra began to ring true when one shoe went flying off.

They had always been loose on him because of his hooves, so when Grover hit a big rock, there was only one left. The other sped down into the darkness, down the chasm. The right shoe continued to tug him along, but thankfully not as fast.

Kali took that moment to jump and dive and slide down the slope like a baseball player trying to make it to home base. She got a hold of Grover's wrist, tightened her grip, and then used her other hand to grab his forearm. Her added weight slowed him down even more, and Grover was able to grab onto another big rock with his other arm, anchoring himself.

They stopped ten feet from the edge of the pit. Kali pushed herself to her knees and helped Grover pull himself back up the slope. Percy and Annabeth caught up at that moment. The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around all of them angrily and kicked their heads in protest before flying off into the chasm to join its twin.

Everyone collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel.

Kali kept a tight grip on Grover's wrist, though. He didn't shake her off.

Fatigued even more than before, she now had to fight back memories. Memories of her best friend. Of adventuring on a hike with her and both of their parents. Of straying a little away from the path, of tripping over a stupid rock while playing pirates, of crumbling dirt on the edge of a cliff they accidentally got too close to.

Of her foot being stuck on something and terrified screams.

Where she now sat, Kali pulled her knees to her chest and curled up. She pressed her head to her knees, squeezed her eyes shut, and covered her head with one arm, still refusing to let go of Grover.

He was fine, she reminded herself. He stopped in time. She wasn't seven and back on Hawaii; she was eleven and in the Underworld next to the entrance of the worst place in the world.

"I don't know how..." Grover panted. "I didn't..."

"Wait," said Percy. "Listen."

Kali strained her ears, hoping to get her mind from the memories with whatever he heard. Then, she heard it, too. A deep whisper. She lifted her head and looked at where it came from.

Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, "Percy, this place–"

"Shh." He stood.

The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below them. From within the pit.

Grover sat up. "Wh–what's that noise?"

Annabeth heard now, too. "Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus."

Kali inched back.

Percy uncapped his pen.

The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming it's chant.

The words... Kali did her best to make them out. They sounded ancient, even older than Greek. That meant...

"Magic," Percy said, the same time Kali came to that conclusion herself.

Annabeth said, "We have to get out of here."

Together, she and Percy helped Grover to his hooves, and Kali pushed herself up after finally letting him go. Percy took one look at her and grabbed her hand. Her fear overrode the annoyance, and she gripped his hand back like a little kid. The voice got louder and angrier behind them, and they all broke into a run.

Not a moment too soon.

A cold blast of wind pulled at their backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, Percy lost ground and slipped on the gravel. Kali bent her arm and locked it, grabbing his sleeve with her other hand until he regained his footing. If they'd been any closer to the edge, they would have been sucked in.

They continued to struggle forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, where the cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. The wind died. A wail of outrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Something was not happy they got away.

As they got closer to the relative safety of the black poplar grove, Kali took her hand from Percy's grip. Then, each of them collapsed once again. She allowed herself to lean against Annabeth, and she did the same to the point where they were basically holding each other up.

"Annabeth," she muttered low enough through her exhausted pants only for her to hear. "It's not Hades."

The blonde shook her head, panting. "Nothing's for certain yet," she said just as quietly.

"What was that?" Grover panted as well. The boys were oblivious to the girls' conversation. "One of Hades' pets?"

As Annabeth and Percy looked at each other, Kali let her head fall back and gently thump the trunk of the poplar tree. No matter what Annabeth said, Kali now extremely doubted it was Hades who took the bolt. Nothing was for certain, yes, but Kali didn't think Hades would use Tartarus like that to get rid of them.

It added to the already-there ball of terror in her gut.

Percy capped his sword, then put it away in a pocket. "Let's keep going. Can you walk?"

She looked to see that the question was aimed at Grover. He swallowed. "Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway."

He tried to be brave about it, but he was trembling terribly. They all were. She then noticed how badly cut up Grover's hands and arms had gotten, causing her to glance at her own forearms. Twin scrapes ran down the sides and were bloodied. They stung, now that she noticed them. She grimaced and looked away.

Then, as she noticed Percy was now looking at her, she said, "Don't worry about me," before he could even ask. "I'm fine. I can walk."

His brows lowered. "You look like crap."

"So do you," she fired back. Then, she stood, and helped Annabeth back to her feet. "Do you need me to carry the backpack? Give you a break?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm fine, don't worry about it."

She gave him a deadpan stare. He sent her a sarcastic smile.

Once they were all on their feet again, they turned their backs on the tunnel and headed to Hades' palace. It was almost relieving.

Almost.

+++

High within the gloom, the three Furies circled the parapets. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story tall bronze gates stood wide open.

Up close, engravings depicting scenes of death were noticeable. Some were from modern times – an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a French filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting with empty bowls – but all of them looked as if they were etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. As if they were prophecies that had come true.

Inside the courtyard was the strangest yet beautiful garden Kali had ever seen. Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as a fist, clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues – petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs – all smiling grotesquely. It was almost as if it was a real life version of the White Witch's castle in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie, except this belonged the Queen of the Underworld instead and lacked a significant amount of snow and ice.

Kali was sort of wanted to pull an Edmond and draw on a statue with a piece of coal. She held herself back, though, and moved along to through the rest of the garden, deciding that it would be a very bad idea if she went through with that impulse.

An orchard of pomegranate trees were in the center of the garden, orange blooms neon bright within the dark. She stopped for a second to stare at them.

"The garden of Persephone," said Annabeth. "Keep walking."

Kali forced herself to do so. The tart smell of the pomegranates was almost overwhelmingly inviting. There was a desire to pick one and eat it growing, but she knew the story of Persephone. One bite of food from the Underworld, and they wouldn't be able to leave. She quickened her steps and linked her arm with Annabeth's, while Percy had to pull Grover away from picking a juicy one.

They walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor that seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, only the carven roof high above them.

Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They either carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of them bothered the four demigods, but their hollow eye sockets followed them as they walked down the hall and to the big set of doors at the opposite end.

Two U.S. Marine skeletons stood on guard at the doors. They grinned down to the kids, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.

"You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."

Kali removed her arm from Annabeth's and stood at Percy's side. "Think we should, um, knock?"

He nodded nervously. "Seems like the best option"

Before any of them could do so, a hot wind blew down the corridor, and doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.

"...Nevermind," she whispered.

"I guess that means entrez-vous," Annabeth said.

The room inside looked just like her and Percy's shared dream, except this time the throne of Hades was occupied.

Unlike the other gods Kali had met so far, Hades actually struck her as godlike. Firstly, he was at least ten feel tall and was dressed in black silk robes with a crown of braided gold atop his head. His skin was albino white, and her black hair stopped just at his shoulders. Even though he wasn't built like Ares, he still radiated power, even as he lounges on his throne made of fused human bones, looking lithe and dangerous and graceful. Like a panther.

Hades' aura affected her immediately. Kali felt like the god should be giving orders. He knew more. He should be like Ralph. Do this, do that, get the hell out of my sight but bring me my dinner. She mentally shook those thoughts away to snap out of it.

The Lord of the Dead had terribly intense eyes. Mesmerizing, evil charisma.

"You are brave to come here, Children of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. "After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."

Kali ignored the numbness that crept up into her joints. "I like to think we're the former of the two," she spoke without thinking. Her shoulders tensed, but otherwise tried not to show she regretted speaking.

Hades' focus was solely on her now.

She heard Annabeth suck in a sharp yet quiet breath, and Percy cut his eyes to her as if trying to silently tell her to shut up.

"You do, do you?" Hades questioned. There was a danger tilt to his tone. "Color me surprised, young godling. You hardly look well enough to even walk."

Kali swallowed back fear, and ignored how she apparently looked so much like crap that Hades pointed it out. Just...treat him like Ralph, her mind supplied. Keep his anger from Percy, like she was keeping Ralph's anger from Naia and Makoa.

"Yes, Uncle," she said, unfaltering. "I do. Got a problem with that?"

There was a beat of silence. Then, when it looked as if Hades was about to speak again, and Percy stepped forward to say, "Lord and Uncle, please ignore my sister's...impertinence." He stood in front of her like he did back at the DOA, partially blocking her body with his. "We come with two requests."

Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his back robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out.

"Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant children. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amused me not to strike you dead yet."

From behind Percy, Kali glared at Hades. The threat of him killing her brother sent a sudden wave of protective anger through her, forming a pressure deep within her bones. The earth gave a slight tremor beneath her feet; she didn't know if her friends felt it, but Hades did.

His eyes snapped to her. Intrigue shone in his features, there and gone so fast Kali almost believed she imagined it. Then his attention was on Percy again.

Percy, who seemed focused on Queen Persephone's throne now. It was smaller, and empty. It had the shape of a black flower, gilded with gold. It was summer, so until the season ended there would be no one to calm her husband's mood.

Annabeth cleared her throat. Her finger prodded Percy's back.

"Lord Hades," he said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be...bad."

"Really bad," Grover helpfully added.

"Return Zeus' master bolt to me and Kali," he said. "Please, sir. Let us carry it to Olympus."

Hades' eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?"

Percy glanced back at Kali and their friends. Each of them shared confused looks.

"Um..."

"Uncle," Kali said and stepped to stand beside Percy. He lifted an arm like he was going to try and keep her back, but she pushed it out of the way. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have we done?"

The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles – Kali nearly blurted, That wasn't me this time, and just barely held back from doing so. Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.

Hades bellowed, "Do you think I want war, godling?"

"Well–"

Annabeth hissed, "Shut up, Kal," behind her.

"You are the Lord of the Dead," Percy began carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"

"A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"

"Well..."

"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?"

Percy opened his mouth to respond, but their uncle was on a roll now.

"More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgement pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"

"Charon wants a pay raise," Percy blurted, and then wore an expression of instant regret.

"He wants more suits," muttered Kali.

"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered those damn Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No, godlings. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war."

Percy said, "But you took Zeus' master bolt."

"Lies!" More rumbling. Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of a football goalpost. "Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not stupid. I see his plan."

"His plan?"

"You were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. "Your father thought to keep you his little secret, to aid your sister undetected. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus. You took the master bolt and my helm. Had I not sent my Furies to discover you at Yancy Academy and you, Kali Beaumont, to be living in New York recently, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now it has been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thieves, and I will have my helm back!"

"But..." Annabeth spoke. Kali could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?"

"Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping these heroes – coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt – to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"

"No!" Percy and Kali shouted at the same time.

He stumbled over his words. "Poseidon didn't– I didn't–"

"Neither of us–" Kali wasn't any better, "I– We–"

"I have said nothing of the helm's disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you."

"You didn't try to stop us? But–"

"Return my helm now, or I will stop death," Hades threatened. "That is my counterproposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson – your skeleton will lead my army out of Hades."

"Over my dead body!" Kali yelled. She stepped forward one, two times before Percy acted and grabbed her elbow to keep her from getting any closer. He tried to pull her back but she didn't budge. The earth trembled again, weaker than what Hades had been doing but more noticeable than what happened earlier.

"That can be arranged!" Hades snarled back. "Yours will be next, Kali Beaumont."

She tried to yank her arm away but Percy's grip was steadfast. "Fine. Go ahead!" she snarled back. A stalactite fell and she had no idea if it was because of her or Hades. "Kill me, Uncle, and see how my parents react to that, you presumptuous son of a–"

"You're as bad as Zeus," Percy cut in. "You think we stole from you? That's why you sent the Furies after us?"

"Of course," said Hades.

"And the other monsters?"

He curled his lip. "I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick death for you – I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?"

"Easily?"

"Return my property!"

"We don't have it," Kali stressed.

"Neither of us do," said Percy. "We came for the master bolt."

"Which you already possess!" Hades shouted. "You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could use it to threaten me!"

"But I didn't!"

"Open you pack, then."

Kali felt Percy's grip on her elbow slacken. It made her turn enough to look at him, but not have her back completely facing Hades. She watched as, after finally letting her go, he slung the backpack off his shoulder and unzipped it.

Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with electricity.

"What," she whispered, confused beyond belief. That wasn't there five days ago.

"Percy," Annabeth said. "How–"

"I– I don't know. I don't understand."

"You heroes are always the same," Hades said. "Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus' master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now...my helm. Where is it?"

This didn't make sense. How did the master bolt get into Percy's backpack? Was Hades pulling some sort of trick on them? He was the bad guy in this, so that made the most sense. But... No, it didn't, really. Why would Hades give up his helm? They had been played with, just not by their uncle. Him, their dad, and Zeus had been set at each other's throats by someone else. The master bolt had been in the backpack, and the backpack was given to them by...

Kali's eyes widened with realization. She shared a quick look with Percy, and then he was saying, "Lord Hades, wait. This is all a mistake."

"A mistake?" Hades roared.

The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of their master's throne. One flicked her whip and grinned eagerly at Percy. Another snarled at Kali, who backed up to stand next to Percy again.

"There is no mistake," Hades said. "I know why you have come – I know the real reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her."

Hades released a ball of golden fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of Percy, and there was the woman from that shared dream – his mother, frozen in a shower of gold, looking like she was being squeezed to death.

Percy didn't speak. He reached out to touch her, but jerked back when the heat from the light tried to burn him.

"Yes," Hades said with satisfaction. "I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually with your dear sister. Return my helm, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."

Percy didn't respond. He was deep in thought. One hand went into his pocket, the one with the pearls...

"Ah, the pearls," Hades said, and Kali tensed in fear. One hand gripped her necklace through her shirt without thinking. "Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson and Kali Beaumont."

Where Percy pulled them out immediately, Kali fought the order to before giving in and slowly taking the necklace from its hiding place. She opened it to show one, singular pearl within the small bronze shell.

"Only four. What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person," explained Hades. "Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Or will it be your little sister? Go on. Choose. Or give me the backpack and accept my terms."

Percy looked at her, and then they looked at Annabeth and Grover. All of their faces were grim.

"We were tricked," he told them. "Set up."

"Yes, but why?" Annabeth asked. "And the voice in the pit–"

"I don't know yet. But I intend to ask."

"Decide, boy!" yelled Hades.

"Percy." Grover put his hand on his shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt."

"I know that."

"Leave me here," he said. "Use the fourth pearl on your mom."

"No!"

"I'm a satyr. We don't have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It's the best way."

Annabeth drew her bronze knife. "No. You guys go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy and Kali. You have to get your searcher's license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."

"No way," argued Grover. "I'm staying behind."

"Think again, goat boy."

"I'll stay. I'm already weak as it is, I'll just slow you guys down," Kali spoke up. She took Percy's hand and dropped her pearl into it, making him wrap a fist around it. "Give that to your mom. You two," she turned to Grover and Annabeth, "get him to Olympus."

"No way," repeated Grover, nearly yelling this time.

"Yes way!"

"You have your little siblings to get back to!"

"Neither of you are staying," Annabeth said.

"Stop it, all of you!" Percy shouted. When Kali looked at him again, he wore the most heartbroken expression she'd ever seen on him yet as he looked between them. "I know what to do. Take these."

He handed out the pearls. Kali took hers back automatically without thinking, and frowned.

Annabeth said, "But, Percy..."

They watched as he turned to face his mom. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."

The smug look Hades wore faded. "Godling...?"

"I'll find your helm, Uncle," Percy told him. "Kali will help me, and then we'll return it. Don't forget about Charon's pay raise."

"Do not defy me–"

"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while."

Kali added, "He likes red rubber balls, by the way."

"Percy Jackson and Kali Beaumont, you will not–"

Percy shouted, "Now, guys!"

They smashed the pearls and their feet. A terrifying moment went by where nothing happened.

Hades yelled, "Destroy them!"

The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame.

Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl fragments at Kali's feet exploded with a burst of green light and a fist of fresh sea wind. She was encased in a milky white sphere, which started to to float off the ground. The same things happened to the others.

Spears and bullets sparked harmlessly off the pearl bubbles as they floated up. Hades yelled with so much rage that the entire fortress shook, and it was a no brained that L.A. wasn't going to have a peaceful night.

"Look up!" Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"

Sure enough, the pearls they were in were racing to the stalactites, moments away from popping their bubbles and skewering them.

"How do you control these things?" shouted Annabeth.

"I don't think you do!" Percy shouted back.

They all screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and... Darkness.

If it weren't for the fact that she still felt the racing sensation, Kali might have thought they were dead. But, no. That wasn't the case. And her godly aunt's words came back to her.

What belongs to the sea will return to the sea.

Everything continued to stay dark until her sphere broken through the ocean floor alongside the others. They soared up through the water. And– ker-blam!

They exploded on the surface in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking off a surfer from his board with an indignant, "Dude!"

Percy caught Grover and hauled him to a life buoy. Kali took ahold of Annabeth's arm and dragged her over as well. Beneath circled a curious shark, a great white about eleven feet long. Because she hadn't been expecting it, the sight of it started her so bad that she knocked into the buoy and struggled to to haul herself on top of it.

Then Percy said, "Beat it."

The shark turned and raced off.

Meanwhile the surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from them as fast as he could.

Kali loosened her grip on the buoy and let herself sag into the water. She stopped once only her dark eyes and forehead were above the surface. It felt rejuvenating. The water was washing her fatigue and exhaustion, and the scrapes from sliding after Grover healed within seconds.

Then, she looked out into the distance. Los Angeles was on fire, plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake. She knew it had to have been Hades' fault, but she couldn't help but wonder if she was the cause of any of the damage. Her anger had gotten the best of her down there after he threatened Percy.

But that wasn't her problem. Not right now.

Somehow she knew that it was June 21st, early in the morning of the summer solstice.

She and Percy needed to get to shore. They had to get Zeus' thunderbolt back to Olympus. Most of all, they needed to face the god who tricked Percy.

————

A/N— *strolls in over half a year later with a large starbucks* hey guys lol

ok i am SO SORRY it has taken me so long to update 😭 life got so shitty man, like you wouldn't believe. i now am on anxiety meds so that's fun and fresh lmao. BUT!! PJO SHOW IN DECEMBER HOW EXCITING IS THAT!!! omg!!! i'm so excited for it lol

yeah so anyway hope you enjoyed this beast of a chapter, specifically kali getting pissed at her dear ol' uncle hades. please ignore any typos and such, i'll get to them later :)

have some memes as another apology:

hades: *threatens to kill percy and have his skeleton lead an army*
kali, immediately:

annabeth, every time kali spoke to hades: